Chapter Text
Sokka was irritated enough as it was, having slept through his first two alarms. The first being a light reminder to think about getting up and the second being his 'Get up ASAP' alarm.
Now that he'd missed it, it was as if he'd gotten up ALAP - As Late As Possible. After showering, putting on a random T-shirt and jeans (that may or may not have had a stain on them) and brushing his teeth, Sokka was confident he had set a world record for fastest impromptu get ready routine.
But to make matters worse he'd calculated that stopping to have a bite to eat would just make him impossibly later and therefore he had to skip his favorite meal of the day. Who am I kidding, every meal is my favorite meal of the day, he thought as he strapped himself into his Toyota Corolla, a gift he'd gotten from his Dad for his 16th birthday, only to find out his car was running on E.
Sokka'd just have to accept that he'd die to an anger-induced aneurysm before ever seeing the last 20 minutes of his Fluid and Solid Mechanics lecture.
Finally, he’d arrived outside his lecture hall only to be swallowed by the familiar faces of his Mechanical Engineering class – a telltale sign that the lecture was already over and his early morning efforts had proven futile. That was until he noticed a very unfamiliar face among them.
For a second, it was as if time had slowed down and they were the only two in the hallway. He instantly knew that he’d never seen her around campus before because, now that he had, he’d decided he’d spend the rest of his life trying to commit all of her features to memory.
She had black hair that was haphazardly styled in a bun, accompanied by a set of bangs that ghosted over her eyes, subtly revealing their unnatural milky hue. Sokka had never seen eyes like that before; her pupils were completely glazed over and the surrounding iris took the appearance of a jade gemstone.
She must be wearing contacts, he thought. Pretty alternative for a 9 o'clock Engineering lecture, but that just made her seem all the more intriguing.
She was sporting a large green sweatshirt, emblazoned with the letters 'ER' in a peeling gold font. For a second he wondered what it must stand for. Maybe they're initials, but he instantly thought against it Who realistically has a sweatshirt with their own initials?
Sokka contemplated other possible options; given her Earth Kingdom resemblance, it was definitely Earth something, maybe it was for a sports team. Sokka inwardly groaned; he hated sports. He was kind of banking on her being just as much of a nerd as he was, given that she voluntarily became a mechanical engineering major.
He decided to maintain his prior optimism, however, acknowledging that he was willing to compromise on the sports thing once they inevitably got married. Yes, he was already thinking of marriage—that and the way her lips had pursed in thought in the split second he'd been looking at them.
"Hey, watch it!"
Someone who was definitely not the future Mrs Amarok had barged into his side, startling him back to reality and the upsetting realization that she had disappeared, lost in the crowd of the slowest walkers he'd ever had the displeasure of wading through. Like, seriously, was this everyone's first day on Earth? Which was slightly hypocritical given that he'd been rooted in place for what felt like the last 30 minutes, but at least he was a speedy walker.
Sokka was now content to blow off the rest of the day, having only one other lecture and that being somehow infinitely less appealing than the Fluid and Solid Mechanics one. Turning on his heels, Sokka pulled out his phone, swiping on the group chat he and his friends (and Katara) shared.
Sokka
Guys, I've just seen the most beautiful woman of my life
Kat
what happened to hi, hello or how are you guys doing??
Sokka rolled his eyes, she was already trying to put her patented Katara-bad-energy over him and he was not about to let her ruin this moment.
Sokka
SHUT UP KATARA, This is serious!!
We're talking about my future wife here
Zuko
I feel like you say this bi-monthly
Kat
rare time Zuko makes a good point
At that, he furrowed his brows; his last relationship was almost two years ago when he and Suki had decided to call it quits since being long-distance clearly wasn't working for either of them. They'd decided to remain friends, thankfully, and he eventually found out that she'd moved on with another guy who lived considerably closer to home than Sokka had—and he was happy for her!
In the years following their breakup, Sokka kind of swore off the whole dating thing, deciding instead to focus on his various unfinished prototypes and spending time with his friends (and the occasional hook-up). But he hadn't really dedicated himself to something serious - he hadn't had the time to – but this was different; she was different, and he wanted to make time for her.
Sokka
Well no
I haven't had a crush in eons
Aang
so this IS a crush (surprised face with open mouth)
Zuko
Well obviously
"Well obviously," Sokka repeated mockingly. Little did Zuko know that he couldn't be further from the truth. Sokka quickly swiped off of their messages, typing a query into Google before pasting the answers and typing back into the chat.
Sokka
STILL WRONG ACTUALLY
This isn't just a crush
This is
-infatuation
-yearning
-fondness
-adoration
etc etc
Kat
did you just google synonyms for love?
Sokka do you even know this girl's name (face with bags under eyes)
"Did he know her name?" Pssh. Well… now that he was thinking about it, as much as he hated and really hated to admit it, Katara was right. It wasn't like he could obsess over this girl without so much as a name to put to her face; he wasn't shallow. He would have to figure something out, but for the time being he was focused on pissing off Katara – his favorite of all pastimes.
Sokka
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind."
Aang
AWWWW
Kat
don’t AWW that? what does that even mean in this context
Sokka
It's Shakespeare obviously, Spirits, Katara pick up a book…
Zuko
One of these days she might actually kill you
Kat
Oh that day will be today
Sokka chuckled, having made his way back to his parked car where he now found himself contemplating what to do next. He might not see her for the next couple of days given the constant scheduling changes he had for this class (the same ones he'd decided to blame his tardiness on). That just wouldn't do though; now that he had seen her, he HAD to get to know her. He had an idea, one he'd likely regret, but an idea nonetheless.
Unlocking his phone again, this time he swiped off their 'GAANG' group chat and scrolled through his contacts to the one named 'Zula.' She hated that nickname, but thinking of the alliteration it gave her and Zuko's names always made him laugh, given that she also hated being reminded of their (as she called it) biological attachment.
Sokka
Heyyyy Azula
He wondered if messaging her like this would be the wrong approach, but even though she'd rather die than admit it, he knew he was one of the few people she found… somewhat tolerable. Her response came ten minutes later, a perfectly average response time for anyone else, or even quick for most people, but Sokka knew she always had her notifications on and at least two portable devices within arm's reach; she was probably already contemplating blocking him and had been ignoring him for nine of those ten minutes.
Zula
I thought I blocked you.
At the coincidence, Sokka burst out laughing before realizing he'd scared a passerby walking past his car and promptly (and self-consciously) rolled his window up.
Sokka
Evidently NOT since I'm talking to you rn
Zula
True
Bye.
Sokka
WAIT
Please, Please, Pleaseee I have a favor to ask.
At this last message, Sokka knew he was praying for the possibility that Azula had a heart and would hear him out. Which was probably the logical equivalent of voluntarily jumping into a locked cage with a saber-tooth moose lion, BUT Sokka knew she had a heart hidden under the many, many layers of what most would call sheer evil; he'd seen her around her friends—most importantly, he'd seen her around Ty-Lee.
It was the world's worst-kept secret that they had a hidden on-again, off-again relationship, and anyone with eyes could see how much Azula cared for her (his evidence being Katara losing the bet they shared on them once Zuko blabbed that they'd been each other's first kiss). So he was hoping he'd appeal to the great, KIND person he knew she had the potential to be.
Zula
Why would saying that make me want to block you less?
Sokka
I'll pay you…
Zula
Why would I need your money?
Sokka let out an exasperated sigh. Clearly his line of thinking was all a crock of shit and hoping for Azula to be kind was like hoping the Grinch wouldn't steal Christmas.
Sokka
Spirits Azula work with me here
Sorry
Do you know that new girl who just transferred to BSSU? She's in my ME class
Zula
Why would I give up this information for free?
At that Sokka groaned again, reminding himself not to throw his phone because he did not have insurance.
Sokka
Because you're a benevolent person who cares about the wellbeing of others….
Also I literally offered to pay you and you said no (face with rolling eyes)
Zula
I have more than enough money
I want information in exchange for information
He sighed, Sokka wasn't surprised that it had come to this, her shaking him down for juicy gossip but the entire reason that he'd come to her in the first place was that she already knew everything about everyone and no one knew how.
She probably knew what he had for breakfast this morning, nothing - he thought woefully as his stomach let out a very pathetic gurgle. After this he'd have to stop for a breakfast burrito or maybe even a stray crumb on the floor he was THAT hungry. Sokka shook his head - that would have to wait, he was getting side tracked.
Sokka
Sigh
What if.. I tell you Zuko's still in love with Mai
He waited.
Zula
The sky is also blue.
Snorting, he had to admit she was right; that was kind of a pathetic attempt, but… he still had another trick up his sleeve, and if Zuko ever found out, he would have to accept that he had no other choice! (Or they'd fight to the death — Sokka was okay with either/or.)
Sokka
EURGH
What if… I tell you he's planning to ask her back out again at the next frat party (face with peeking eyes)
The text message bubble popped up before disappearing at least twice! He let out a slight smirk at the fact that he was probably the first person in human history to stump Azula of all people, but he couldn't get too cocky yet; there was still a possibility she'd block him mid-conversation and he'd die never knowing who this mystery lady was.
Zula
.
Her name's Toph Beifong
"YES!" Sokka fist bumped the air before composing himself quickly, he was calm, he was so cool about this, superrrr cool. Cool, cool, cool.
Sokka
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE BESTIE
Zula
I'm blocking you permanently this time.
Sokka
You would never (head shaking vertically)
Wait
When his last text came back with a green bubble and no 'Delivered' sign underneath it, he was impressed that, among many things, what Azula wasn't was a liar; she finally had blocked him – now he was sure she'd get bored and unblock him eventually, but to be honest, he was just shocked that it took her this long.
He swiped onto his Instagram, suddenly feeling kind of self-conscious about it. He was very analytical when it came to what he posted, his bio and his highlights; he was pretty proud of how it looked usually, but what if it looked like he was trying too hard? Katara always made fun of him for how much attention to detail he put towards his socials, but he knew she was EXACTLY the same; she just hid it better.
After he spent at least another 10 minutes scrolling through and nit-picking what had to have been his entire Instagram feed, he remembered what his actual objective was and searched her name in the search bar.
'Toph Beifong' for a second he hoped that Azula hadn't actually lied to him, but his fears were assuaged by a single account popping up; that must be her. 'Toph Beifong', that was a nice name; it felt… strong, dependable, even a little intimidating. He liked the way it sounded in his mouth, repeating it again slower, savoring each syllable.
Clicking on her account, he looked at her profile picture; his heart stuttered slightly. She was facing the camera, her face obscured by sunlight but her features still managing to shine through.
She had a wide smile on her face, almost like she'd been caught mid-laugh or in the middle of re-telling a treasured memory. She really was beautiful. There was something else that caught his eye, however, below her bio '20 - Mechanical Engineering Major 'BSSU next to a flag of an Earth Kingdom country he couldn't currently place.' But below all that he saw 'Followed by @azulakanezaki and… @kataraamarok'
Sokka
Katara What the Fuck